Persona: Fate Core
by HaganeShimura
Summary: Persona: Fate Core is a documented version of the adventures through a modified version of the table-top RPG, Fate Core. Taking place in a psuedo-London city known as Port Victoria, a group of teens find themselves joining together in order to solve the mystery of the strange labyrinths that are appearing from people's souls.
1. Meeting 1: Character Creation

MEETING 1

Character Creation

* * *

PERSONA: FATE CORE is a modification of the table top RGP, Fate Core, fitted with Persona 3 and 4's themes. The following is a documentation of the players' experiences. The character creation is not necessary for the enjoyment of the story, but it is recommended you read it regardless.

Characters:

Zachariah Edlund, Senior

Zachariah is a Port Victorian, glasses wearing, 17 year old. His parents own the Edlund Association, making him wealthy. A part of the Edlund Association is the department and grocery store "Edlund's." He once stood up to a bully who was beating his victim to a pulp.

Micah Carson, Junior

Micah Carson, known as a street artist and gang member as "M.C," lived in Liberty City, overseas, for most of his life, living in a somewhat violent neighborhood. At age 17, he was caught vandalizing public property. His mother, wanting him to start anew, had him sent away to Port Victoria, where he attended the elite school, St. Jerome's Academy, at a decent price, due to his uncle being an employee.

Mia Malone, Sophomore

Mia is adept with computers. Se has a website that documents and displays street art in a virtual and simulated art gallery. Her favorite artist is known by his tag "M.C." She is 16.

Vivian Polyakov (birth name Talanov), Sophomore

Vivian Talanov was born in Vodlia to a lower-class woman who had an affair with the country's Czar, Taras Talanov. In an attempt to protect the baby, Vivian was migrated to a small town near Port Victoria with some body guards. When she was 14, assassins tried to kill the potential threat to the throne, but Vivian managed a narrow escape. After a long, cold walk, she made her way to Port Victoria where she donned the alias "Vivian Polyakov" around her 15th birthday. Currently, the 16 year old girl is attending St. Jerome's Academy. She is still being hunted by her father.

Liam NeGuyen, Spy (several jobs)

29 years ago, Liam was drafted into the military at only 16. Liam's performance was so exceptional, he was granted entry into the Auseyland Security Intelligence Agency. Despite having soldiers like Liam, Vodlia still managed to take over Auseyland, forcing Auseyland to become a vassal of Vodlia. Liam, not wanting to succumb to the madness of Vadlian tyranee, began working with the ASIO to try and recover his country. Vodlia almost ignored their governmental influence on Auseland, making it easier for the ASIO to work. After 29 years, Liam NeGuyen was sent by the ASIO to investigate the strange happenings in the English city of Port Victoria. This job, while real, was only a cover up to uncover any information about the missing heir to Vodlia to help return Auseyland to its prior state.

Ragnar Auk and Sven the Walrus, Junior

Ragnar was born in the coldest reaches of the northern countries. His parents died when he was ten, eaten by a pack of wolves. After the village was destroyed, he was taken in by a family of walruses until he was 16. He found an ancient viking tomb, full of treasures, worth billions. With his walrus brother, Sven, he traveled to Port Victoria, urged by Sven to join an elite school known as St. Jerome's, a boarding school.

The Characters First Meetings:

Zachariah and Ragnar

On an errand for the Edlund association, Zachariah was out, walking the streets of Port Victoria. On his way back from the errand, he found a walrus, half stuck in a drain pipe. Zachariah rescued him and found out the owner was a man with a rather large beard. Speaking limited English, Zachariah found out that this man was 16, named Ragnar, his walrus will do anything for salmon, and he will be attending St. Jerome's Academy in the next academic year.

Zachariah and Mia

Zachariah discovered that Mia was the one responsible for the near destruction of the Edlund Association. Having his family and it's wealth be jeopardized and nearly destroyed, Zachariah distanced himself from Mia.

Micah and Vivian

Micah was there on the day that Vivian crawled her way into the city, frozen with icicles hanging from her hair. Like everyone else that day, he looked away and carried on with his day.

Micah and Liam

Micah was on vacation with his family in Auseyland a few years ago and ended up as hostages at the largest national bank. One man fought off several robbers. Micah doesn't know it, but Liam saved his life that day.

Mia and Zachariah

Mia, being gifted in computers, hacked into the database of the Edlund Association. Upon the discovery of the lack of regulations being followed, he published his findings on .

Mia and Liam

As a renowned hacker, Mia managed to find security footage of the bank robbery in Auseyland that Liam assisted in preventing. It is possible that Mia may recognize his face.

Vivian and Zachariah

After class one day, Vivian walked out of the school building to find a small circle of students. In the middle of the circle, a fight was breaking out. After the fight became noticeably one-sided, she acted upon her righteous nature and delivered a swift punch to the bastard. To her surprise, another hero had punched the bully on the opposite side of his face at the exact same time. In that moment, Zachariah Edlund became Vivian's first friend.

Vivian and Ragnar

One day after the final school bell had rung, Vivian was walking through the school halls ready to head to her dorm. Her plans were interrupted when a freakish brute stomped through the halls demanding she take one of his salmon. Concerned for the well-being of herself and her cuteness she immediately fled from the goliath. After managing to put enough distance between the two of them, Vivian hid inside the school kitchen's walk in freezer. All the running had taken its toll and Vivian hadn't slept since her last lecture (a whole 10 minutes ago), so without warning she fell to her back in the freezer and went to sleep. It wasn't until lunch the next day that she was discovered.

Liam and Vivian

The plan was simple. Get into the palace, locate the heir to the Vodlian throne, and assassinate her. Too bad things rarely ever went to plan. Nobody had told Liam his target was a child, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Using his long standing connections with the ASIO, Liam made sure this heir was no threat to his country ever again. She was shipped to Port Victoria in order for Auseyland to exert their influence on her.

Liam and Zachariah

During Zachariah's enrollment to St. Jerome's, Liam was among the staff members who were screening the incoming students as part of his undercover job. During the screening process, Liam discovered that Zechariah was the wealthy son of the Edlund Association, a very famous store and association.

Ragnar and Micah

Ragnar found his way to a video store, intending to get a copy of Sven's favorite movie, "Titanic." As he was searching, an argument broke out at the check-out. The clerk and some kid were yelling. The young man stomped off, steaming, and sat outside the store. Ragnar bought his movie, went outside, and offered the young man some salmon jerky. The teenager said his name was Micah.

Ragnar and Mia

After Ragnar moved into the dorms, he wanted to learn what this "internet" was. He discovered a young girl named Mia, who taught him what he wanted to know. Now, thanks to Mia, Ragnar orders many interesting things on for him and Sven. He still seems somewhat confused on the plastic card idea, but it sure seems to hold a lot of money. Mia also helped him learn a little more English.


	2. Meeting 2: Let the Game Begin

MEETING 2

Let the Game Begin

* * *

Time never waits.

It delivers all equally to the same end.

You are those who safeguard the future,

however limited it may be...

You are presented a limited amount of time;

go forth without falter

with your hearts as your guides...

* * *

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 14

AFTER NOON

A young man with black hair and glasses walks into the lobby of one of the St. Jerome's Academy dormitories. Zachariah adjusts his glasses and sets down a few bag of luggage on the floor. In front of him is an old looking man.

"Sign here," he says in a stern voice. He pushes a sheet of paper in front of Zachariah.

"I thought I already filled out the necessary papers," Zachariah replies planely.

"Call it an update in the conditions." Zachariah grabs the pen on the counter and signs the sheet "Zachariah Edlund."

"And one last paper, please." The old man pulls out a document that looks as old as he is. There isn't much written on the document, but it is hard to make out.

Zachariah reads a few word out loud: "I chooseth this fate... What?"

The old man replies to him. "All it says is that you take full responsibility of your actions."

Zachariah looks at the old man. After a second, he reaches out to sign the document. Without warning, the old man grabs Zachariah's hand. Zachariah feels a small prick in his skin where the old man grabbed him, and, soon after, a drop of blood fell to the document. After a moment, it disappeared.

"Ow! What was that for?" Zachariah asked with a raised voice.

"The contract has been signed." The old man began to vanish into the shadows. "I feel you will not disappoint me."

Confused, Zachariah picks up his bags and heads to room 212.

A Norse man with a beard walks into the lobby of the dorm. A walrus accompanies him. Ragnar and Sven make their way to the check-in counter where an old man waits.

"Please sign here," the old man says.

"Okay, Friend," Ragnar replies.

"And one last document." The old man pulls out an ancient document. As Ragnar reaches out to sign that one, the old man grabs his hand and pricks his finger. A drop of Ragnar's blood falls to the paper. As it hits the old parchment, a second drop of blood appears before the two of them disappear from the page.

"Oh, so that's how they do it here. Hey, can Sven do it too?" Ragnar asks.

The old man sets the paper by the walrus, draws blood from him, and rolls up the paper. The old man leaves, saying, "The contract has been made."

"Okay, bye Friend." Ragnar waves as the old man vanishes in the poorly lit room. Sven and Ragnar move into room 102.

Liam NeGuyen enters the lobby. The old man has returned to his post, papers ready. Liam signs the first contract under "Lee Wheeler." The old man looks down at the paper.

"Your real name please."

"No," Liam states firmly.

"Then I'm sorry, you are unable to choose your fate." The old man begins to disappear.

"Wait." The old man stops. "Fine." Liam signs his real name.

"And this one as well, please." As Liam reaches out to sign the sheet, he is forced to bleed on it. Three other drops appear and disappear.

"The contract has been made." The old man vanishes. Liam moves into room 227.

A young, gangster-looking man walks into the lobby. The old man gets him to sign the contracts, making Micah bleed on the parchment. Micah is roommates with Zachariah in room 212.

A young lady with a computer walks in and signs her contract in blood and moves into room 233.

Mia enters her room. In the room is a small girl, Vivian. The two greet each other.

"I'm Vivian Polakov," she says. She mentioned how she had been living in the dorm over summer.

"Mia. Mia Malone." Before the two can say anything else, there is a knock on the door. Vivian opens to door to find an old man she does not know.

"Ms. Vivian, we need you to sign this document please."

"I already have everything done, though," Vivian argues.

"We need you to sign this document, please."

"...Alright." Vivian turns to grab a pen from her desk. As she turns, the old man grabs her, pricks her finger, and forces her blood on the document. The encounter was too quick for even Vivian to react to. The man quickly vanished down the hall.

EVENING

After the commotion of the contract dies down, Mia finishes packing her things away.

"So, how well do you know Port Victoria?" Vivian asks Mia.

"Decently, I suppose. Why?"

"Let's head out somewhere. We have the evening free."

Mia grabs her coat. "Might as well. Any ideas?"

EVENING MUSIC

Mia and Vivian find themselves outside a store with a sign that says New Age Alternative Medicine. The shop boasts about "Revival Beads, Snuff Souls, and Ointment."

"Who even buys this kind of thing nowadays?" Vivian asks.

"There are some pretty odd people out there."

Vivian notices a shelf through the window that has some gems on them. "Hey, let's go check those things out, though." The two walk into the store. The clerk, an old hippy, tells them that the gems contain the power of the spirit, ready to be used at will. Vivian looks at the white one. "Look, isn't that one cute? It'd go well on my hat, huh?" Mia shrugs in agreement. "Awe, I don't have the money..." The clerk apologizes for the high price, but refuses to sell lower. The two return to the dorms.

Zachariah and Micah meet each other and introduce each other. Micah learns that Zachariah's family owns the Edlund Association. The two decide to play ping pong in the basement for the night. The two have a fierce ping pong battle.

Liam shows up and stealthily swipes the ball as it passes over the net. The two continue to play as if nothing happened.

Ragnar and Sven spend the evening in their room. Ragnar mounts his Nord battle axe on the wall.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 15

MORNING

First day of school. Liam poses as a geography teacher, Finlay Wood. The juniors are being taught by Mr. Pythagoras Hypotenuse, the sophomores by Kyle George III, and the seniors by Finlay Wood. Zachariah takes note of the two fake sounding names in two days and thinks this semester will be odd.

AFTER NOON

After the first couple of classes, an assembly is called. All of the students gather in the auditorium. The party all sit somewhat close to each other coincidentally. Vivian notices Zachariah.

"Hey, Zachariah, I found this cool shop last night, they sell some really weird stuff there. We should go check it out later, I really want you to see it," Vivian whispers to Zachariah.

"Yeah, sure. I'm off work for today, so we can go after school if you want," Zachariah replies.

One of the teachers turns around. "Quiet down and pay attention. The principal is speaking." The teacher turns to a junior nearby who is reading what looks like a manga, but no one can make out what is on the pages. "And quit reading!" The teacher takes her book away.

"Man, teachers are lame," Liam tells Ragnar.

"Oh, yes I agree," Ragnar replies.

Classes end. Micah managed to sneak out of class. No one knows where he went.

AFTER SCHOOL

Ragnar, Sven, and Liam walk out of the academy together and notice the girl who got her book taken away. Seeing that she looks sad, Ragnar walks up to her and offers her something.

"W-what is it?" she asks cautiously.

"It's salmon jerky. I made it meself."

The girl takes the jerky, smells it, and then takes a small bite. Her expression changes from caution to enjoyment as she eats the rest of the jerky.

"So, homes, what happened with that book ya had earlier?" Liam asks, posing as Lee Wheeler.

"Um, well, I probably shouldn't have been reading it. It was a special manga that you can't even get anymore," the sad girl replies.

"Oh, that's quite sad, huh friend? I'm Ragnar, also. This is Sven, also." Ragnar points to his walrus.

"And I be Lee Wheeler, smalls." Liam attempts to act the age of a high schooler.

As they talk outside, Zachariah, Vivian, and Mia walk out. Vivian sees Zachariah walking ahead of her, so she grabs Mia's sleeve and tugs her with.

"Zachariah!" Zachariah turns to see his friend. His smile quickly fades as he realizes who she's tugging behind her. "Zach, this is Mia, my room mate! She's really nice!"

Zachariah replies sourly: "Is she now? For some reason, I doubt that."

"Hey, I did nothing wrong," Mia replies.

Vivian looks between them, confused. "Do you two know each other?"

"I'll tell you later," Zachariah answers, still sounding upset. The three of them turn and see Walrus Boy and Fake Name talking to a girl they had never met before. "Hey, who's that girl?"

"Oh, does Zachy have a crush?" Mia teases.

"Uh-oh. That's Ragnar! Zachariah, he's after my adorableness!" Vivian says to Zachariah loudly. "Let's get out of here!" Before either Mia or Zachariah can respond, Vivian grabs their hands and runs off with them, unnoticed by Liam and Ragnar.

The girl is still upset. Liam, thinking he needs to blend in, offers to help get her book back. Ragnar, wanting to make a nice friend, offers to help as well.

"Really? That's great!" the girl replies. "Oh, by the way, I'm Alicia Robinson."

Unbeknownst to the two, a card turns in their minds. The words are spoken in a deep voice.

"Thou art I... And I am thou...

Thou hast established a new bond.

Thou shalt be blessed when creating

Personas of the Magician Arcana..."

"I usually read in the library if you want to talk some time." The girl leaves.

Mia, Zachariah, and Vivian

Vivian stops pushing them once they make it to the train. "That was close. He almost saw us!"

Zachariah is panting for air. "Why did you take me?"

"Trust me, Ragnar is strange. He smells like salmon," Mia said.

"See? Now then, let's go check out that shop I told you about," Vivian said, leading the way.

"The shop we were at yesterday?" Mia asks, "Why do you want to go there again?"

"I want to show Zachariah the cool stones! Plus, I found some change in the cushions of the sofas in the lobby, I might have enough now!" Vivian replies happily.

Despite Zachariah's hate for Mia, he goes along anyway for Vivian. They enter New Age Alternative Medicine.

The store clerk is the same old hippy from last night. "Welcome, dude and dudettes, to my store."

Vivian ignores the clerk and rushes straight to the wall with the gems on them. To Zachariah's surprise, the gems are all of various colors and pulsating. Of course Vivian wants one, he thinks to himself. Vivian reaches for the white one and takes it to the counter top. "Can I buy this?"

"Yeah, you absolutely can, young lady," says the hippy.

"I have this much." Vivian slaps down several pounds and some change.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry, lady. This isn't enough to cover the cost of a Mahama gem." Vivian looks down, sad.

"Well, Vivian, I can help pay for you if you really want it," Zachariah offers, pulling out his wallet.

"No, I can't take your money. I guess I'll just have to save some more..."

Seeing how sad she was, the clerk pulls out a smaller box. "Well, you do have enough for this Hama gem. You can take it if you want." The box contains a smaller gem, but it still glows all the same.

"Okay!" Vivian pushes her money across the counter and grabs the gem, quickly putting it on her hat. She turns to Zachariah. "Well, how do I look?"

"It's very nice, Vivian," Zachariah replies happily.

It's getting late. They return to the dorm.

Ragnar and Liam

On the way to the library to meet up with Alicia, Liam thinks to himself that he could steal the book back in order to gain her trust as a friend. The two enter the library, leaving Sven outside. The two of them see Alicia, reading on the second floor. "Alicia! Hi Alicia!" Ragnar shouts. The librarian looks at them and violently shushes them. Ragnar apologizes and offers the librarian jerky. She doesn't take it. The two head upstairs. They spend After School reading together. Ragnar reads Nordish books he found, Alicia reads manga, and Liam reads a case file, covering it with a book.

It's getting late. They return to the dorm.

EVENING

EVENING MUSIC

On the way back to the dorm, Zachariah, Mia, and Vivian see Lee Wheeler and Ragnar and Sven with the girl that they met earlier. Vivian hides behind Zachariah.

"Zachariah, let's find another way," Vivian asks quietly.

"No, we're already here," Zachariah responds.

Ragnar hears talking behind him. He turns to see Mia and Zachariah. "Mia friend, hello!"

They walk up to them, but Vivian tries to pull Zachariah into the dorm. Mia notices that Vivian wants to escape, so she distracts Lee, Alicia, and Ragnar. Zachariah slips away as well because he's tired of being near Mia. Ragnar learns from Mia that sushi is a great way to eat salmon and that there is a great sushi place in the Elund's Shopping Center.

Alicia goes home.

Lee and Ragnar spend Evening outside the dorms, smoking. The two become closer.

Mia tries to do work in her room, but she can't focus with all of the cigarette smoke floating into her window. Mia walks downstairs to tell someone about it and is stopped by the old man who checked them in.

"Oh, it's you. Hey, there are guys smoking out there. Can you tell them to stop, I can smell it from my room," Mia asks the old man, somewhat startled by his appearance. The old man walks outside.

The old man taps the two on the shoulder. Out of surprise, Liam jumps into a bush, unnoticed by Ragnar.

"You must move away from the building if you are to smoke. It's causing the whole building to smell."

"Oh, sure thing, Old friend," Ragnar replies.

The old man disappears and reappears in the bush behind Liam. "Did you hear that?" he asks.

Zachariah and Vivian go to the Edlund's Shopping Center to eat.

"Something seems a little odd around town lately," Vivian says through a bite of her dinner.

"I know what you mean. Finlay Wood? Lee Wheeler? First off, fake names, second off, I was in my first class with Mr. Wood. He seems to want to philosophy, but he got stuck with geology. He keeps asking the class 'Rocks. What are they?' over and over." Vivian and Zachariah laugh.

"No, I mean, I just get this strange feeling. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know of any place that sells something like brass knuckles, would you?"

Zachariah thinks over the store layout for a second. "Well, there is one place. It keeps getting complaints, but the manager insists that they're only for decoration. It's a souvenir shop that sells weapons from around the world, but they all look battle-ready if you ask me."

"Really? Can we head over there?" Vivian asks.

"I guess so."

The two go to the shop labeled as a souvenir shop.

Vivian asks the owner for something that can be concealed and used as a weapon and Zachariah looks around the store for a bit. The owner does not have brass knuckles ready, but he pulls out some old tape for strength training. After a bit of consideration, she decides on the tape. She purchases it and puts it around her fists.

Vivian walks up to Zachariah, who is looking at some weapons.

"Ready to go?" she asks.

"Y-yeah, just a second," Zachariah responds. He reaches out to a weapon on the wall. A hatchet with a red blade rests on the wall. Attached to the handle is a long chain so the weapon can be thrown and retrieved at the flick of a wrist.

"Are you going to buy that?" Vivian asks.

"I want to, yeah." Zachariah begins to take out his wallet. "Well, then again, as the heir to the company, I probably shouldn't just buy some strange weapon because I think it looks cool. If I had a real purpose to use it, then maybe." Zachariah puts his wallet away and the two of them leave.

It's getting late. The go back to the dorm.

Zachariah enters his room to find Micah asleep.

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 16

MORNING

The party attends class. Liam poses as Finlay Wood, teaching about rocks. How do they work? He has fair knowledge.

LUNCHTIME

Micah smokes behind the school.

Zachariah sits with Lee and Ragnar at the end of the table. Sven sits on the floor next to Ragnar. Vivian sits next to Zachariah, but tries to avoid Ragnar. Mia sits across from Vivian. Alicia walks up to the party.

"Hello, Ragnar. Hello, Lee," she says, "Oh, I'm afraid I haven't met you before." Alicia directs her statement to Zachariah, Mia, and Vivian.

"Oh, I'm Zachariah Edlund."

"Mia Malone."

"Vivian Polakov."

Ragnar looks at Alicia. "They are friend. Can trust them."

"O-okay. I'm Alicia Robinson." Alicia tells Vivian, Mia, and Zachariah about the manga. The party, save for Micah, are Rank 1 Magician Arcana. "You guys, you should meet me in the park late night. I have an idea for my manga."

AFTER SCHOOL

Vivian and Mia go to the clocktower together.

The two of them decide to buy tickets and tour the tower. They try to go up to the clock face, but a man in blue stopped them.

"I apologize, girls. You cannot enter the clock face yet."

"Awe. Fine." Vivian goes into the nearby shop and Mia follows. In the shop, Mia purchases a replica of the clock tower for a room decoration.

It's getting late. They return to the dorm.

Zachariah goes to work at the Edlund's Shopping Center.

Lee and Ragnar decide to check out the town together. Ragnar remembers something that Mia told him the other night.

"Hey, Mia friend said something about this 'soo she' at Edlund's. Do we go?"

Lee agrees to go to Edlund's for some sushi. Once they walk in, they see Zachariah working produce.

"Hey, Zachariah friend. Where is sushi?" Ragnar asks.

Zachariah looks at them and then passed them, pointing. "There's a map over there, it would have been faster to stop at the map."

Ragnar spins around and walks to the map with Sven. Sven studies the map immensely. As if he just saw into the universe itself, he describes in great detail how to get to the sushi restaurant nearby.

"Oh, it's that close?" Lee turns to Zachariah. "Hey, Zachariah, want to eat dinner with us?"

Zachariah looks down at his watch. "Yeah, sure, I'll take an early break. Besides, the company is almost mine. I can make my own breaks."

Lee ordered toast, but the waiter misheard him and brought him tempura tofu.

"You know they don't serve toast here, right?" Zachariah told him.

"I know," Lee replies. "I'm hip with it."

Ragnar takes a bite out of his salmon sushi.

"It's a little bland," Ragnar says. Ragnar reaches for the tray and grabs some ginger and puts it on his sushi. He takes a bite and likes it more.

"This is good. Where is more of this?" Ragnar asks Zachariah.

"The ginger? It's provided by the Edlund Association."

"Must get more." Before they leave, Ragnar makes sure to buy many ginger.

It's getting late. They return to the dorm.

Micah spends his night vandalising a shopping center.

It's getting late. He returns to the dorm.

EVENING

Zachariah enters his dorm room to find Micah.

"Hey, I've got something going on tonight. Want to come with?" Zachariah asks.

"Why?" Micah responds.

"Because, as far as I know, you haven't done anything with other people since you got here," Zachariah replies.

"Yeah, so?"

"So come with." Micah complies to come with.

The party promised to meet Alicia tonight. Better get going.

The party meets Alicia in the green park.

"You're all here! Good! I have a plan to get my manga back," Alicia says when she sees her new friends.

"Well then, let's hear it," Zachariah says.

Alicia explains that there are cameras watching the outside of the school, but it may be possible to sneak around an area that isn't completely covered.

"Well Vivian is rather small, so I think she can manage that," Zachariah says, "But what about the office?"

Mia speaks up, "There is most likely a camera watching the office as well. If I hack into the footage feed, I can set up a loop so that it looks like nothing is happening."

"Great. I can keep watch," Ragnar says.

"We'll need to get the doors unlocked as well, though," Zachariah points out.

"I think I can handle that," Lee says. "Well, I mean, I KNOW someone who can handle that. He's a janitor at the school."

"Are we really going to do this, though?" Zachariah asks.

"This is great! We have all of the people we need for the..." As Alicia speaks, she covers her forehead.

"Alicia friend, are you alright?" Ragnar asks.

"Yeah, just a headache..." Just as the words escape her mouth, Alicia collapses to the ground.

"Alicia!" Zachariah exclaims, kneeling down to her body. Suddenly, her spirit came out of her body and floated straight up, followed by a translucent chain. The spirit stops high in the sky and begins to transmogrify. Above the park was a large labyrinth that formed from Alicia's lost spirit.

"What the hell is that?" Micah asks aloud.

"I have no idea," Mia replies, "And what are those?"

Mia points at the spheres that circled the labyrinth. Without warning, the black spheres fall to the ground and take the shape of a black slime wearing a blue mask, five in total. The masks begin to surround all of them.

"Hey, that's an attack formation. We need to leave this circle!" Vivian shouts.

Ragnar, Mia, and Vivian run out of the circle of shadows while Liam manages to jump into another conveniently placed bush next to the mob of shadows. Micah and Zachariah remain in the middle of the monsters.

"Fine with me if that's an attack formation. I never leave home without this," Micah says, pulling out a pistol.

Micah fires at the shadow in front of him, getting a clear hit, but not quite defeating it. Next to him, Zachariah pulls out a small knife that his parents gave him to protect himself.

"Those things, they're Cowardly Maya!" Mia shouts from her hiding spot behind a tree.

"How do you know that?" Vivian asks, punching one of the shadows.

"I don't know, I just do."

Liam fires a gun from his bush. "Anything else you can tell us?"

"Not really, sorry," Mia replies.

"It's alright guys, we're doing great so far! We've taken out two of these guys, let's keep going!" Zachariah shouts, stabbing at one of the monsters and killing it.

Ragnar charges at the remaining shadow and swings his ancient Nord battle axe that he brought with him to a park for some reason. The battle axe cleaves through the Cowardly Maya, freezing it and then shattering.

"What the hell were those things?" Micah asks as Ragnar, Mia, and Vivian join back up with Zachariah and himself.

"Other than Cowardly Maya, I guess I don't really know," Mia responds.

"They came from up there," Zachariah says, pointing up. As they look up, they see another shadow falling. The monster hits the ground hard.

"Uh oh," Ragnar says.

"This one might be a bit tougher," Zachariah points out.

"I got this!" Vivian shouts, running at the monster, fists flying. The monster side steps, knocking Vivian down.

"Way to go..." Liam says to himself, still hidden in the same bush. Liam fires his gun at the monster, but the bullet just bounces off.

The gigas raises its hands into the air and brings them down hard, shaking the ground. In the quake, the whole party falls over, making Liam fall out of his bush and Micah sprained his ankle in the fall.

"What do against large beast as that!" Ragnar asks, trying to stand.

"I don't know, we can't hit that thing!" Liam responds.

Zachariah tries to stand. "Come on, we have to keep fighting. We can't just back down."

"But there's nothing we can do..." Mia tells him.

Zachariah's head pulses. "Ah! Y-yes there is! We don't give up!" Zachariah's head pulses again, as does everyone else's. They all drop their hands into their heads. "C-come on, we won't die like this..."

All at once, everyone begins to hear the same thing.

A deep voice in their heads speak loud and clear. "I am thou... Thou art I. The time has come. Open thine eyes and call forth what is within!"

Zachariah lifts his head from his hands. A card, glowing in blue, hovers above him, slowly falling. "Per... so... na..." Zachariah opens his hand and the card comes to a stop, spinning in his palm. The face of the card shows a tower. "Per... sona..." The others are speaking as well, the same word. "Persona!" Zachariah destroys the card. At that moment, a blue circle opens beneath him. Wind blows powerfully and streams of blue circle him and everyone else as they crush their own respective cards. Above Zachariah appears a large angel. Above Vivian is a menacing snowman with jewels attached. Above Ragnar and Sven, twin ghosts. Liam has a chimera and Micah has a large arachnid. Above Mia is a three-headed Hydra.

The team stands in awe as the monsters materialise.

"What is this?" Liam asks, bewildered.

"What, you don't feel it?" Zachariah asks, his fist still clenched. He turns toward the rest of the team. His eyes erupt in a blue flame. "This power. It's mine now." Zachariah turns back to the gigas, putting his fist down.

"He's right. I can do anything now," Ragnar says behind him.

"Th-that enemy. The Furious Gigas. It's weak to any elemental attack. Can you guys hit that thing now?" Mia asks from the back of the team.

Zachariah smirks. "Yeah, we can hit it." Zachariah lifts his arm and the angel lunges forward, blowing wind backward in its wake. The angel stops in front of the gigas and spins, raising a powerful wind attack upward at the monster, knocking it down.

"I can do that too!" Liam pushes his chimera forward. As the gigas stands, it is met with a fiery inferno, knocking it straight back down.

"I think mine might work a bit differently," Micah exclaims. His arachnid moves a few legs and a large black diamond circles the gigas. It spins slowly before shrinking and striking the gigas, completely killing it.

The monster has been defeated. After the party's new found power, they have used it too much. In their exhausted state, they collapse.


	3. Meeting 3: You're Myself, I'm Yourself

MEETING 3

You're Myself, I'm Yourself

* * *

The party awakens. Each of them open their eyes to see they are standing. As their vision clears, they notice a short man with a long nose sitting across from them. The man's lip curls into a smile. He laughs quietly.

"Hello. Welcome to the Velvet Room," he says in a gentle, yet drawn out voice. He continues, "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter."

Vivian looks around her. On the walls are enormous clocks. Through the semi-transparent glass of the clocks, she can see nothing but a thick, violet haze. The inside of the room looks like some kind of lounge, but all of the furniture is colored the same velvet color.

The long-nosed man laughs again. "Please, sit down. You six must be exhausted." The man gestured in front of him, where a long couch lies behind a table. After a bit of hesitation, they all sit. "I can't remember the last time I had so many guests. Only those who have entered into a special contract are allowed to enter this room."

"But we didn't sign any contract," Zachariah protests.

"Oh, on the contrary." The man across from them waves his hand over the table. As it passes over the table, an old document appears. The document is stained with blood on the line where a signature would normally go. "This contract states that you accept responsibility for your actions and choose this fate of your own free will."

"Pfft, how are we supposed to know that. Nobody can read THAT," Micah complains.

"Yet, despite being unable to know what it says, you were compelled to sign it anyway." The man laughs. "My, the Moon sure is a strange one."

"Okay, maybe we did sign that thing, but we didn't know that we'd end up in some room with an old guy we don't even know! It says nothing about THAT in your contract!" Mia revolts.

"Oh, my. You're correct. You haven't learned my name yet, nor I yours. Not formally anyway. I do apologize. My name is Igor. I am the keeper of this Velvet Room. And you are my guests. I am not here to do you any harm. You have all awoken to your power together and I am here to assist you. In this dire time, you will require the aid of someone not from your plane of existence. Normally, I deal with fusions for those lucky few who are empty, who can hold multiple Personas. Seeing as how none of you are the Fool, however, I have decided to change ever so slightly. This room has a lot of power. In this room, you will be able to make your Personas more powerful than previously."

"What is that mean?" Ragnar asks in broken English.

"It means that, in this room, you can... Well, let's call it 'leveling up,' shall we?" Igor replies.

"Leveling up?" Vivian asks.

"Indeed. Unlike the last few guests I've had, it seems that you are able to summon your Personas in the real world as well, unable to be seen by those without the power. You would do best to keep this in mind. It may come in handy in the future. Now then, time marches on in your world. I believe it may be time for you to awaken. The time you next come here, it will be of your own free will."

The party's vision begins to blur and fade. All at once, the party loses consciousness.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19

AFTERNOON

The party wakes up. They are all in separate hospital rooms. Vivian sits up in her bed. She looks around and gets off of her bed. She looks out the window and sees that she is on the first floor. She looks at the door slightly and grabs the window. After forcing it open, she jumps out with all of her things.

Ragnar wakes up and sees his materials in the room with him. He stands up and leaves with all of his stuff. Not seeing Sven, he asks the receptionist. "Where is Sven? Is about this tall, adorable face. He is brother."

"Um, I'm not sure," the woman at the counter replies, "Perhaps try going home, he may be waiting for you there." Ragnar checks out and leaves.

Zachariah wakes up. After grabbing his things, he checks out of the hospital.

Micah wakes up to find a brace around his sprained ankle. The nurse comes in as he sits up.

"Hey, what's going on here?" he asks the nurse.

"I'm not really sure. There were seven of you, just passed out in the park last night. And a walrus."

"Is everyone in this hospital?" he asks.

"Mmhmm. Except the walrus. We sent him to the vet. They probably know what to do with him better than we would."

Micah thanks her and checks out.

Liam wakes up with his Lee Wheeler mask on. He looks around and quickly changes into Kian Miles, Doctor in Training. He walks through the halls and runs into a nurse.

"Oh, hello... Doctor?" The nurse has never seen him before.

"Hello, Nurse. Any patients today?" Liam asks.

"W-well, there were these highschool students that were passed out in the park. We have no idea why, they all just seem to be exhausted. Would you like to check on them?" the nurse asks.

"S-sure. Why not?"

The nurse takes Liam to the room that he just exited. The nurse is shocked to find it empty. "Why is it empty?" she wonders aloud.

"Relax, I'm sure he's fine. Take me to see another one," Liam says.

"R-right. A few of them checked out, but there's a young girl who is still here." The nurse takes him to see Vivian's room. The nurse is shocked to see Vivian missing as well, window open.

"W-WHAT! WHY ARE PEOPLE BREAKING OUT! THIS IS A HOSPITAL, NOT A PRISON!" the nurse shouts in surprise.

Liam places his hand on the nurse's shoulder. "Fear not, ma'am. I will bring her back." Liam quickly dives out the window and runs off.

The nurse looks at the open window with a blank expression. "I need to transfer hospitals..."

Mia checks out like a normal-ass person.

Ragnar walks around for a little while. Before long, his scent catches Sven's nose. Without warning, a walrus bursts through the nearby vet's window.

"Sven!" Ragnar shouts. He tosses a piece of salmon jerky through the window.

Vivian leaves the hospital and looks up. The labyrinth above the park is still there. She decides to investigate. Once she arrives at the park, she notices the large, translucent chain. She grabs at it to make sure that it's real. A young boy walks up to her.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

Vivian looks at the chain for a second before looking back at the boy. She realizes that he can't see it. "Um. A work out. It really hones your biceps!"

"oh, really? Cool!" The little boy starts waving his hands in the air like Vivian just was.

Vivian jumps onto the chain and becomes translucent like the chain.

"H-hey. Where'd she go?" the kid asks.

Vivian climbs up to the top of the chain. She enters a hexagonal room. The room is full of books and shelves. In the middle of the room is a large shelf.

Sven and Ragnar look to the sky and see Vivian climbing up the large chain. The two go to the park. In the park, they see a kid, waving his hands around like a weirdo. He sees Sven. Getting scared, he runs off.

"Oh, bye bye!" Ragnar shouts as he leaves.

Sven jumps onto Ragnar's back and they climb the chain.

Zachariah leaves the hospital. He remembers the labyrinth that appeared from Alicia's body and makes his way to the park. When he gets there, Ragnar is on the chain as well as Vivian. Zachariah thinks for a second. He remembers the words of the long-nosed man. "It seems that you are able to summon your Personas in the real world as well, unable to be seen by those without the power. You would do best to keep this in mind. It may come in handy in the future." Zachariah steps up to the chain. He focuses and a transparent, blue card floats in front of him. "Persona!" he shouts, crushing the card. The fallen angel, Samandriel, appears. Zachariah jumps onto its shoulder and flies up with his Persona's help.

Liam sees Vivian and changes masks back to Lee Wheeler. He tries to follow Vivian, but she's too fast. He quickly loses her. He later sees Vivian half-way up the chain leading to the labyrinth. He makes his way to the park. He tries climbing the chain, but he gets tired half-way up. He thinks about how he could get up. He remembers his aliases. He dons the Daniel Middleton mask, the mask of a renowned body builder, and climbs all the way up. Before he gets to the top, he changes back to Lee Wheeler, fake name.

Micah walks to the park after seeing so many people on the chain. He climbs halfway up and is unable to climb sees Zachariah flying with his Persona. "Hey, Zachariah! Get your ass down here!" Reluctantly, he floats down to help Micah. He grabs Micah off the chain. The wait is too much for Zachariah to handle and he begins to lose altitude, slowly. After about ten feet, he places Micah back onto the chain.

"Sorry," Zachariah says, "Turns out this was a bad idea." Zachariah flies back up.

Vivian is alone in the library-esque room. She hears a noise from behind the book shelf.

"Shit, it's those monsters again!" Vivian shouts. She summons Lord Frost and punches the bookshelf over. Two hands come from the sides of the bookshelf and one of them remains down, under the bookshelf. The black hands have a blue face at the top and walk on their fingers.

One of the hands attacks Vivian with Bufu. It strikes Vivian, but deals no damage. The other hand strikes Vivian with Zio, hitting her.

Ragnar and Zachariah arrive at the top of the chain. Ragnar stands and sees the hands. "Oh, Vivian friend. Helo."

"Guys, help me!" Vivian cries.

Ragnar pulls out his battle axe and swings it. He misses the enemy. Zachariah summons Samandriel and uses Garu, but misses as well.

"Thanks..." Vivian replies. "There's one under the shelf, too. It's down!" Vivian summons Lord Frost and uses Sonic Punch. She hits one of the Killing Hands and it gets thrown back slightly. The shadow under the bookshelf stands. It casts Agi, but Vivian dodges. Another shadow uses Agi on Ragnar and hits him. The last hand casts Bufu on Zachariah and hits him.

Liam and Micah make their way up to the top of the labyrinth.

"More shadows, eh? No problem!" Micah pulls out his revolver. He aims at one and fires. "Bang!" he shouts. The bullet flies through the air and strikes one of the shadows, hard. The shadow burst. The bullet kept flying until it hit the wall and ricocheted to strike another shadow, killing that one as well.

Liam jumps in and summons Manticore, casting Agi. He hits the last one, defeating it.

"We did it!" Vivian shouts. Vivian's phone suddenly begins ringing. Vivian answers her phone. "Hello?"

"Guys, where are you? I just saw you all climb up that giant chain!" Mia shouts over the phone.

"What's that? I can't hear you. It's really bad reception in here," Vivian lies.

"What? I can hear you just fine!" Mia replies angrily.

"S-sorry, what was that, I really can't hear you," Vivian says, hanging up her phone.

The phone rings again. Vivian answers reluctantly. "Hello?"

Mia is on the phone again. "Yeah, I know you're lying about that. I can sense the room that you're in just fine. I think it's my Persona."

Vivian looks down the hole that everyone climbed through. At the base of the chain is Mia with Hydra looming over her.

"Oh," Vivian says. "Well can you come up here with us?"

"Are you kidding? There's no WAY I'm climbing that!" Mia shouts.

"Baby..." Vivian says under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing." Vivian quickly relays the information that she received over the phone to the rest of the party.

"Ey, Zach. Go send your Persona down ta pick her up," Micah orders.

Zachariah releases a short, maniacal laugh. "Fine, but I'm still getting used to it, so I may end up really injuring her on my way back up."

"No, don't come get me, I'm okay here!" Mia replies as soon as she hears it.

Vivian turns away from her phone. "She says she can stay down there." Vivian puts her phone on speaker.

"It seems like the room you're in is safe. There don't seem to be any more shadows."

"That's cuz we kicked their asses!" Micah boasts.

"Regardless, I think you can freely look around now," Mia tells them.

"Well, in that case, I'd like to check out what's in this room. Ragnar, do you mind helping me lift this back up?" Vivian and Ragnar lift up the bookcase that Vivian knocked over in the last fight.

Liam looks at the stairs. "Well, I want to check out what the rest of this place has to offer." Liam walks up the stairs.

"Hey, Lee. If you want to go, it'd be best not to go alone. We don't know the dangers of this place yet." Zachariah turns to Micah, "Come up with us," he orders.

"Fine, I was going to do that anyway," Micah says. The three of them go up to the next floor.

Ragnar notices an old-looking book. The pages are worn and it looks as if it's over a hundred years old. "Hm... What think, Sven?"

Sven tells Ragnar that the book is about a boy with a scar who goes to a wizarding school.

"Cold!" Ragnar exclaims. He sits down to read it.

Vivian notices all of the books seem to have something to do with the arcane. "Hey, maybe we can find a clue about our Personas here..." Vivian picks up book after book, only to open them and find nothing about the spells that they have been casting for the past couple of hours. "Ugh! This is all garbage!" Vivian shouts in frustration. She takes a few of the books and tosses them down the hole they arrived through while screaming " _Cyka blyat CYKA BLYAT,"_ which, according to Urban Dictionary is Russian slang, saying "The formal known version of this particular word is translated to simply- "whore" "slut" and other words that explain the oldest profession in this world. Yet, Russians (and lately, Israelis as one, even without a slavic roots in blood) are using this term as a link-word, as a curse, almost anything you can imagine (URBAN DICTIONARY)," but, in accordance with Google Translate, means "JUICE juice fuck fuck," so you, the reader, may just pick which one you want it to mean. Personally, I like the second one. "Forget this, I'm going upstairs!" Vivian marches angrily up the stairs while Ragnar remains reading with Sven.

Liam, Zachariah, and Micah arrive in the second floor of the labyrinth. The room is a larger hexagon shape than the one below. There are several piles of books and a few tables as well.

"Look at all of these books," Liam says.

"What are they doing here? Are they Alicia's do you think?" Zachariah asks.

"That's right, she created this place, didn't she?" Micah responds. Without warning, Micah feels a pain in his thigh. He looks down and sees a poison dart. "What the? Something just shot at me."

They look around for a bit. Liam points at a table with a blue mask nearby. "There, another shadow!"

"Seriously? Again!" Zachariah asks. Zachariah runs forward. "Persona!" He crushes the tarot card in front of him and casts Zio on the Laughing Table.

"I can finish it off!" Lee pulls out his revolver and fires at the table, knocking it down.

Micah takes out his gun and shoots as well. The Laughing Table loses two of its legs.

Vivian makes her way into the room. As she runs up the stairs, she pushes forward and punches the table. Mia is heard from the phone.

"Watch out! There's another Crying Table up there!"

A dart gets fired at Vivian, poisoning her. "Something's shooting at me!" she warns.

"I still can't find it," Mia reminds them.

"Well once you do, we need that thing scanned!" Zachariah orders.

"Right."

Lee moves around the room and sees something move by a stack of books on the other side of the room. "There! I see it!"

Micah moves into range so he can fire at the enemy, piercing his bullet through the table.

"I got it!" Zachariah shouts, casting Garu. The wind attack blows from underneath the Crying Table and flips it over near Lee, breaking its leg. As the table stands, Lee casts Agi. The shadow bursts into flames before getting destroyed.

"I think that's it. I don't sense any more shadows near you guys," Mia tells them.


	4. Meeting 4: Shadows of the Labyrinth

MEETING 4

Shadows in the Labyrinth

* * *

Ragnar shoves the book he was reading into his inventory and runs upstairs, concerned about all of the commotion, Sven at his side.

"Walrus Boy, Sammy. Thanks for the assistance," Zachariah smirks.

"Welcome," Ragnar replies, not noticing Zachariah's sarcasm.

"That's all for that room, I think," Mia says over the phone.

"Good. I think it's about time we head back, then. We do have two poisoned allies, after all," Zachariah says, turning to Micah and Vivian.

"Oh, come on. Let's at least take a look around the room together!" Vivian protests.

Ragnar walks up to a shelf and grabs a book. "Hey, look, is book." Ragnar opens up the book and flips to a page to find a recipe for a Dis-poison, an item to cure poison. He looks around a little more and finds enough ingredients for one Dis-poison. Carefully, Ragnar crafts the item.

"Here. Made poison thing!" he proclaims, handing it to Micah. Micah uses the Dis-poison and is cured.

"Well great, but we still have one more poisoned victim." Zachriah says, pushing up his glasses and looking toward Vivian, who is looking at a large book on a pedestal.

"It's okay! I don't need it!" Vivian shouts, looking through the pages. To her dismay, the book is full of words and characters that she can't properly read. Despite this, she decides to grab it and take it with her anyway.

"I think we're all done here, right?" Lee asks, leaning on a pillar.

"Agreed. Now let's head back and..." Zachariah begins.

"Great! Onward and upward!" Lee exclaims, charging up the stairs.

"Up we go!" Ragnar shouts, running up, Sven at his heels.

"Hey, that's not what I said!" Zachariah shouts after them.

"I'll just follow those guys," Micah says, following up the stairs.

"Come on, Zachariah! Let's go!" Vivian shouts, polling Zachariah up.

The party arrives at the next floor. The room has the same hexagonal shape that the previous rooms had. On the opposite of the room as the stairs was a large balcony, giving the room a much higher feel than the two before it. In the center of the room was a large rug that showed the Magician tarot card. On the north and south ends was a cauldron of water and fire, one on each side.

"Hey, what's that?" Micah asks, pointing to the top of the balcony. The party looks to see a large shadow at the top in the shape of a person.

"Seems someone else it here," Ragnar responds.

The party run toward the balcony to check it out. As they approach, a witch jumps off the balcony and into the light pouring in from the windows. the witch rests on her broom, hovering in the space above them.

"Watch out! There's one of them, and it's a strong one!" Mia shouts from the ground.

"I can't hit it if it's all the way up there!" Vivian shouts.

"Yeah, but I sure can!" Micah pulls out his gun and fires.

The bullet strikes the enemy, hitting it.

"I got this!" Lee shouts, firing his gun as well. The bullet just misses the shadow.

"Way to go, sharpshooter," Zachariah quips.

"But he missed," Ragnar responds.

"N-no, I meant... Never mind, Samandriel!" Zachariah shouts, summoning his Persona. The angel strikes the enemy with Garu.

"Mia-friend, weakness please," Ragnar shouts, summoning his Persona, only to miss his Bufu skill.

"I'm on it," Mia replies.

The shadow makes a beeline for the ground and steadies out to cast Mabufu on the party. A pillar of ice strikes Lee hard, taking advantage of his weakness. Ragnar stumbles back, but remains okay, as well as Micah. Zachariah is hit hard and almost loses his balance, getting frozen.

"Spread out a bit," Mia instructs from Vivian's smartphone.

"Right," Micah exclaims, running to the top of the balcony to shoot.

"Now that you're on the ground, Lord Frost!" Vivian shouts, summoning her own Persona. The snowman rushes forward, delivering Sonic Punch to the witch.

"I got it! It's weak to Zio when it's in the air, but it always resist Agi and Bufu skills!" Mia says.

Ragnar lunges at the shadow with his battle axe. "Being in air means no ax or Vivian-friend, though."

"you know, I think I might be able to deal with that. Persona!" Samandriel appears above Zachariah and summons a gust of wind beneath the shadow. The wind blasts the shadow so hard, its broom flies up into the air.

"Nice one, Zach!" Micah shouts.

"Not done yet!" Zachariah runs forward, catches the broom in his hand, and delivers a barrage of hits to the witch."

"Ha ha! Yeah!" Lee laughs.

Frustrated, the witch stands and pulls out a wand. After a flash of light, the party sees there are now two identical witches side by side.

"What!" Vivian shouts.

One of the witches charges at Lee, using a physical attack. Quickly, Lee sidesteps. he retaliated with a flashbang from his spy arsenal.

"What was that?" Ragnar asks.

"A flashbang?" Vivian responds for herself only.

Micah jumps down off of the balcony and fires at the enemy that attacked Lee.

Vivian also charges for that same witch, readying a punch, but she misses.

Ragnar decides to go hit the other one. He lifts his axe over his head and charges, dealing massive damage, crippling its left arm. "Almost got!"

"Allow me to help," Zachariah shouts, casting Zio. The enemy gets struck by a bolt of lightning and crumbles to ground in a flash of light.

"There's only ONE ENEMY LEFT!" Mia shouts.

"I got this," Lee says. He walks closer to the remaining shadow and pulls out his gun. "RRAAAAGGHH!" Lee begins running, but he loses his balance and trips, dropping his gun. Luckily, the enemy was focused on its dead ally and the gun hits it in the back of the head, doing enough damage to defeat it.

"Well, whatever works," Micah says.

Lee picks up his gun. "I meant to do that." He holsters his pistol.

"Way to go guys, you did it!" Mia congratulated over the phone.

A blue door under the balcony shines a velvet light, alerting the party to its presence.

"Hey, a door?" Zachariah points out.

"Haven't seen one of those in here." Micah holsters his weapon.

"Cool, water! I'm thirsty!" Vivian says, practically drowning herself in the cauldron of water.

Zachariah shakes his head. "I work with children."

Lee looks down at the tarot card carpet. He lifts up one end of the carpet and sees a small button, peaking his curiosity. With determination, he pushes the button. A small, hidden area opens under the carpet, revealing a large, red gem. He holds it up to examine it.

Vivian pulls her head out of the cauldron and gasps for air. She turns around. "Hey, that looks like my white one," she says, walking up to Lee.

"Yeah, only larger. You know, that one contained Hama, right? That one's larger and red, so it must have some kind of strong fire spell."

Lee shrugs and puts it in his inventory. Zachariah, Micah, and Ragnar go back to examining the small details of the room.

As Lee is about to turn away, Vivian grabs his arm tight.

"Hey, that flashbang," Vivian says, pointing to the carcass of an old-looking grenade. "Where did you get it?"

"Heh, what that?" Lee responds.

"Yeah. I see it's from Auseyland. A vassal of my country. They haven't had flashbangs for at least 25 years. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, umm... There was some guy on the way here. He said he had some for sale, so I bought some."

"Liar!" Vivian shouts, holding Lee's wrist tighter and calling the rest of the party's attention. "You're full of shit! You didn't buy a flashbang on the black market!"

Ragnar walks up to the two of them and offer them salmon.

Lee quickly grabs both pieces and eats them himself.

"You guys don't find this strange?" Vivian asks the rest of the group.

"Come on, Viv. Chill out. We all headed to a strange labyrinth that appeared from nowhere. It's nice to see someone actually came prepared for the worst."

"Zachariah's right. He was probably just prepping for when he had to drop it and run away like a scared kitten."

Vivian shoots Lee a glare. "Fine. Let's just go through that stupid door."

The party walks into the Velvet Room together. Mia walks in with them.

"Guys? I saw this door and I just came in. Where did you come from?" Mia asks.

"Dungeon," Lee replies a-matter-of-factly.

Within the room, Igor is sitting in his normal place, across the velvet sofa, a table in between. By his side stands a blue-haired woman who looks to be college age.

"Hey, it's you. What is this place? And where's Alicia..." Micah starts.

Igor holds up a hand. "Calm yourself. All your questions will be answered in time. Please, do take a seat. There's someone I'd like for you all to meet."

The party all sit on the sofa. Igor waves his hand toward the woman standing beside him. "This is my assistant for this chapter. Her name is Abigail."

"It's nice to meet you all," she says in a calm voice.

"She is going to be the one to put use to the Social Links you will be gathering from today forward, right Abigail?"

"That is correct. In fact," Abigail opens up the book she had been holding to her chest, "...it seems many of you have already started down the path of the Magician, the unfortunate soul who provided shape to this labyrinth. With your current status, those of you at Rank 1 are able to learn the fire skill, Agi." As she speaks, a red aura flows from the book to the party, disappearing inside all but Micah, who has yet to forge the bond.

"Awe, but I already have that one," Lee pouts.

"And what about me?" Micah asks.

"Yes, it seems quite unfortunate that you miss out on learning and using a new skill. And you seem to have missed out on meeting her entirely." Abigail thinks for a moment. "Ah, I know. I will forge this bond with you myself." With those words, Micah and Lee grow to Rank 1 of the Priestess arcana. "The best I can offer you are healing spells. I grant to you, Dia."

"Sweet," Micah says to himself.

"So is that it? What about the rest of this place? Can we save Alicia by going through all of these floors?" Vivian asks.

Igor chuckles. "My, aren't we enthusiastic? Yes, Alicia lies up there," Igor says, pointing a long finger to the ceiling.

Ragnar looks up.

Igor laughs again. "No, not here. Even higher in the dungeon you have all come from. Alicia's physical form lies still and empty at the local hospital, waiting for you six to return her soul to her."

"And how do we do that?" Zachariah asks, leaning forward, eager to listen.

"To rescue her, you must venture to the top of the labyrinth and vanquish the shadow that lies at the top. Only then will Alicia's soul return to her."

"Okay, how hard is that going to be, what else can you tell us?" Micah asks.

"Unfortunately, that is the extent of the knowledge I am able to share with you. You may stay in this room if you wish, but I have no more exposition for you at the moment." Igor stands and begins walking through one of the many doors in the Velvet Room. "Until we meet again..."

Lee sighs. "Great. Now what?"

Micah stands up and walks around to the door. "I guess we keep going?"

"Nooo! Let's take a break here first!" Vivian complains.

Zachariah stands and walks up to Abigail. "So, you live here?"

"I do," she responds.

"How boring. I take it you haven't seen much of what Port Victoria has to offer in that case?"

"Unfortunately, I can't wander to far from here on my own. My master forbids it."

"Well, in that case, how about I accompany you? Port Victoria born and raised. I can show you a few interesting places to spend time."

"Oh, that sounds nice." Abigail pulls out a phone. "Allow me to give you my information so you can give me a call when you sort things... out..." Abigail looks past Zachariah to see a bearded, Nordish man, flexing and giving her looks.

"Hello," Ragnar says. He walks up her and pulls out some salmon jerky. "Here. I get it from myself."

Abigail takes it awkwardly. "Th-thank you..."

"I'll take care of this." Zachariah grabs Ragnar by the shoulders and moves him. "Great job, there, Casanova."

"Is Ragnar," he replies.

"Right." Zachariah addresses the rest of the party. "Hey, it's getting late. How about we all head back for tonight and recuperate. We can discuss a proper course of action later."

"Yeah, I like that idea," Vivian replies. "I'm getting a little woozy from this poison.

"Sounds good to me," Mia says, walking out the door.

With the party in agreement, everyone else steps out and arrive back in the labyrinth. As they step out, the party hears a loud ticking.

"What's that! I'm gonna go punch it!" Vivian shouts, trying to run up the side of the balcony.

"Vivian!" Zachariah shouts, grabbing her arm to stop her. "We already agreed to head back for today. Now let's go."

"Aw... But they're going!" Vivian whines, pointing behind Zachariah to everyone else who are now running up the other side.

"What? Guys!" Zachariah scolds.

"Sorry, Zachariah, but we want to punch it, too!" Lee shouts downward.

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm working with children," Zachariah pouts, walking up the stairs with Vivian.

At the top of the stairs is a clock with an inaccurate reading. The clock is attached to chains, firmly locking the door behind it.

Shortly after the discovery of the door, Zachariah's phone rings. He answers to find out that it's Abigail.

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be ready so soon. Sorry, but I'm a little busy babysitting," he says, shooting a glare at the rest of the team.

Abigail laughs lightly, "No, that's not what I'm calling about. I was going to tell you that the door you should be looking at now is a timer. It's halting your progress for right now, preventing you from going any higher. I will inform you all when the seal is lifted. That is all." Abigail hangs up.

Zachariah relays this information to the rest of the team members.

"I'm not a child," Vivian complains.

"Right, I guess we'll have to go back for now then," Lee says, walking down the balcony with everyone else.

As they reach the center of the room, they hear a noise from the lower floors.

Vivian gasps with excitement. "I want to punch it, I want to punch it!" she shouts, running down the stairs. To her dismay, the floor begins falling apart on the stairs. Vivian begins falling with the pieces. "Can't punch that, can't punch that!" she screams as she falls further away from everyone.

"Vivian-friend, chain!" Ragnar shouts.

Vivian looks to the large chain that attached itself to the floor and jumps onto it.

"Like I said, babysitting," Zachariah says, summoning Samandriel and flying down like before.

Ragnar and Micah hop onto the chain and begin climbing down. Lee remains at the top. He peers down and sees a large bush at the base of the chain. "I was a body-builder on the way up, might as well be a sky-diver on the way down." Liam takes off his Lee mask and puts on the mask of a sky-diver, Shawn Brown. He jumps down the hole. "Wait. I don't have a parachute, do I?" Shawn grabs at his back, searching for the cord to release his parachute. "Nope. Oopsies." Shawn falls straight into the bush.

Everyone arrives on the ground safely, with Liam putting on his Lee mask. The party looks up to find that half of the labyrinth is now gone. The last three floors that they traversed no longer exist and the chain is attached to the last set of stairs they climbed together.

LATE NIGHT

"So, what do you guys want to do for tonight?" Mia asks when the party joins her once again.

Zachariah looks at her. "Are you kidding? We just spent the last, like, four hours fighting monsters. I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, and I forgot my key, so I'd better tag along," Micah responds. The two of them leave.

"What? Come on, we did good thing! We should celebrate. Let's go clubbing!" Ragnar suggests as Sven waddles his way down the road to the dorms.

"No thanks. And where's Sammy off to?" Zachariah asks, "Shouldn't he go with?"

"Oh, no. Sven's a walrus. He doesn't like clubs." Ragnar begins walking to a club for the night.

Vivian shuts the door behind her as her and Mia enter their room. She locks the door and turns to Mia.

"Something is up with that Lee Wheeler guy," Vivian says, "He had a flashbang from Auseyland. That thing HAS to be at least 25 years old. Auseyland doesn't make flashbangs anymore."

"Okay, so what do you want me to do about it?" Mia asks.

"You're a hacker or something, right? Try and find out whatever you can about him."

"Alright..." Mia responds. Mia opens up her laptop bag and pulls out her laptop. She opens it up and begins typing. "Anything in particular you want me look for?"

"Well, the fact that there is someone with anything from Auseyland concerns me... Do you think you can look for any potential spies at all living in Port Victoria?"

"I can try..." Mia responds, typing away. The clacks of her keyboard flooded the room, filling the otherwise silent atmosphere. After a minute of typing and clicking, she speaks again: "Yeah, there are definitely some Auseyland spies around here. And hey, look at this." Mia pulls up an old video from a security camera. "I was looking at the records of the Auseyland national bank..."

"Why?"

"...investments... Anyway, it doesn't matter. The day I checked it out, I found this. Check it out." Mia presses the play button on her computer.

A man is seen disarming people and stopping a potential robbery.

"That man's name is Liam NeGuyen. No doubt a fake name if he's a spy. I mean, listen to it. It sounds fake. He has a scar on the back of his neck, though. A small one, but you can still notice it. I don't know if he's here, but apparently he's a pretty useful Auseyland spy."

"They seem kind of dangerous, don't you think?" Vivian asks, mildly concerned.

"Well, I don't see why you should worry. It's not like you're the long-lost daughter of Taras Talanov or something like that," Mia jokes.

Vivian hides her face a little. "Heh, yeah, right. But, I mean, they probably want to do harm to every Vodlian, right?"

"Yeah, that could be a possibility. Well, regardless, you have something that they don't: a Persona. If push comes to shove, I'm sure a good Sonic Punch from old Lord Frost will do them in."

Vivian lies down on her bed. "Yeah. I guess. Could you keep digging, please?"

Mia closes her laptop and sets it on her night stand. "Yeah, sure. I'll see what I can find." Mia reaches over to her lamp and shuts it off. The room goes dark.

Ragnar walks into the club, music blasting in his ears. People across the dance floor shuffle around wildly, enjoying their time. Ragnar walks into the center and begins to dance like the Viking he is. He looks on stage to see a famous DJ. "What wonderful sounds from the speakers!" he says as he dances. Lights of all colors flashed across the small room, painting the walls.

Late at night, more appropriately, early morning, the crowd of people begins to fade. Soon after the people leave, the DJ begins to pack up. Ragnar is among the few stragglers who have yet to leave. Ragnar jumps onto the stage behind the DJ. As he takes a few steps toward the DJ, he notices a wallet on the stage. Ragnar picks it up and walks up to the DJ.

"Hello, music friend. You drop this," Ragnar says, handing the wallet back to the DJ.

"Oh, thanks kid," the DJ says. He grabs the wallet and looks up to see a long, red beard. "Oh, not a kid."

"I like your sounds. They were good," Ragnar says.

"Yeah? Thanks. Not many people come up to thank the DJ. I saw your dancing. It was very... interesting. You looked like a real Viking out there."

"Well, that make sense."

Ragnar gets Rank 1 of the Star Arcana. It's getting early. Ragnar returns to the dorms.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20

DAY TIME

Mia wakes up and looks over to her room mate. Vivian is still passed out, a bottle in her hand. "Was she drinking after I went to bed?" she asks herself. Mia gets up, gets dressed and spends her whole day online.

After a few hours, Vivian wakes up. She looks over to Mia. "Morning..." she says, half drunk.

"What did you drink last night?" Mia asks, not looking away from her computer.

"Oh, a sleepy aid. It's a good one." Vivian grasps her forehead in pain. "Ow, my head..."

"Yeah, I don't think that was a sleep aid."

"Helped meeee..." Vivian replies.

"Are you hungover?" Mia asks, finally turning. Vivian is halfway on her bed, her face standing on the floor.

"I think so..." she responds. "I'm going to go take a cold shower and go to Edlund's for some Persona stuff..." Vivian says, slowly standing.

"What can you possibly get..." Mia begins. She is cut off by the sound of the door closing behind Vivian. "Oh, okay. What are my question for, huh? Vodlians." Mia returns to her computer.

Vivian steps into the weapon shop and the same shopkeeper greets her.

"So, how are those brass knuckles coming?" Vivian asks.

"Good, in fact, we have some all set to go!" The shopkeeper pulls out a heavy box and sets it on the table. The box is overflowing with knuckles.

"Awesome! Can I get it with this?" Vivian drops a small stack of cash onto the table.

"Hmm... You can have some with this, yes. Unfortunately, the ones that are truly brass are a bit more costly. I have some made from pewter in here if you want those?"

"That will do!" Vivian responds, taking a set.

Vivian steps out of the shop and sits in the nearby food court. She pulls out a water bottle, filled with something that is clear, but most likely not water. She begins drinking it.

Ragnar walks into the shopping district and looks around. He makes his way to the New Age Medicine shop and walks in. He asks for one of the magic gems and manages to purchase a Mazio gem. "Do you take trade?" Ragnar asks.

"Well, we are looking for something new to sell. Do you think you have anything?"

Ragnar pulls out the old-looking book about a wizard he got from the labyrinth. "How about this?"

"Oh, that's perfect! Kids nowadays love those antique looking things! That gem is now yours!" the shop keeper responds. Ragnar is Rank 1 in the Hierophant Arcana. It's getting late. He decides to return to the dorm.

Lee decides to check out the Art and History Museum. He gets a free tour because the museum is currently working on adding a new wing and the construction site is making a lot of noise. For some reason, he feels the need to change into a construction worker and dive into bushes in the African history exhibit like a mother fucking moron. What 45 year old, professional spy feels the need to compromise his mission by jumping into a bush every five FUCKING minutes? It's getting late. He decides to go back to the dorm.

Zachariah wakes up. Thinking of what he could do today, he decides that the best course of action would be to get his own weapon for the labyrinth. With that in mind, he heads to the weapon shop in Edlund's. As he walks up to it, he sees Vivian in the food court, drinking something that is definitely not water. Zachariah begins walking up to her.

"Vivian, you can't drink Vodka here," he scolds, trying to grab it. While he struggles to grab it, Vivian chugs the whole bottle. "Vivian, you can't be serious, do you know how bad that is for you!"

"I don't care, I'm Vodlian!" she shouts back.

"You need to go home before you get in trouble!" Zachariah tells her.

"My country is the home!" she responds.

"What does that even mean? Whatever. I'll be back in a few minutes to take you back to your dorm." Zachariah enters the weapon shop.

"What can I get for ya?" the shopkeeper asks.

Zachariah looks at the wall and sees the hatchet attached to the chain he saw the last time he visited. "I'll be taking this," he says.

"Sure thing, Mr. Edlund." The shopkeeper grabs it and places it carefully into a case. "You can also get a holster for it so you can keep it on you, but not always hold it. But you'd better have a pretty good belt too!"

Zachariah grabs the holster as well and leaves. Vivian is passed out in her seat. He carries her back home, leaving her with Mia. It's getting late. He decides to stay at the dorm.

Concerned that he may not get too much by smoking outside all day, Micah decides to head to the harbor to explore and meet new people. He sees an industrial area with a bunch of smog around it and a scrawny high school student. Micah decides to try him.

"So, do you come here to relax?" Micah asks, sitting next to the student.

"Uh, no. I'm on break," he replies.

"Really? I think we should hangout some time," Micah suggests awkwardly.

"I guess. Do you go to high school at St. Jerome's?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well, I'm the president of the debate team there. We could always use more members."

"Really? Great, I'll check it out some time," Micah responds, gaining Rank 1 in the Emperor Arcana.

It's getting late. Micah decides to return to the dorm.


	5. Meeting 5: Prepare and Progress

MEETING 5

Prepare and Progress

* * *

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21

DAYTIME

The party attends school. Zachariah sits in the same geography class with "Mr. Wood." Rocks. How do they work? They influence the roman empire.

AFTER SCHOOL

Zachariah leaves the front building when his phone rings. He answers it.

"Hello?" he asks into the microphone.

"Hello, Zachariah. It's Abigail again," the voice on the phone responds.

"Oh, well hello again, Abigail."

"I'm calling to inform you of a change in the labyrinth. It seems the path that was unpassable has been unlocked."

"Oh, thank you. I'll be sure to tell everyone." Zachariah hangs up and calls Micah.

"Hello?" Micah responds, sounding tired.

"Did you skip classes today and sleep?" Zachariah asks.

"N-no. I would never."

"Anyway, call up Lee and Mia. We're meeting in the lobby of the dorms. We have some things to discuss."

"Yeah, whatever," Micah says.

"I'll be a bit late. I have to grab a few things before the meeting. I'll also call Vivian and Ragnar."

"Cool." Micah hangs up.

Within the lobby is a small, closed area, usually used by tutors for quieter areas or meetings. The walls are made of glass and the room is visually very tidy. In the center is a large brown table, around knee high with comfortable chairs around the two narrow ends and one sofa on the longer end near the wall, all of which were slightly taller than the short table in the middle, making it uncomfortable to write on if one tries. Ragnar, Sven, Lee, and Micah are all sitting around a table in the closed-off lobby of the dormitory. Mia stands in front of the table, her arms crossed as she waits.

"So, what's all this about?" Lee asks.

"I don't know. Zachariah-friend only said come here," Ragnar replies.

"Where is he, anyway? And where's Vivian?" Mia asks, directing her question at no one.

Zachariah walks in on the conversation, pushing the glass door open with his back. In his arms is a box, labeled by Elund's Electronic Department, as well as the all-black case for his new weapon. "She didn't want to come. She went to the park to train."

"This meeting was optional?" Micah asks. "Great, then I'm going back to sleep." Micah begins to stand.

"No! Sit," Zachariah scolds. Micah sits down. Zachariah sets his boxes down on the table. "Unfortunately, things go in one ear and out the other with Viv. If she has her mind set to something, she's going to do it, no matter what I say."

"So what in box? Is salmon? Sven loves salmon," Ragnar asks.

"I'm getting to that. First thing's first, however. Abigail called me after school today. She said that the locked door is now open in the labyrinth."

The party begins speaking all at once.

"Hey, nice!"

"Let's get going, then!"

"Maybe find another book."

Everyone tries standing, ready to leave.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Hold your horses, everyone!" Zachariah says, trying to calm everyone down. Everyone sits back down while Zachariah remains standing with Mia near by. "Last time we just rushed in, we got horribly injured. It's a miracle that some of us are even still alive. I was frozen, in fact, I'm still a little cold, Lee had frostbite, thank God that was cured, and we had two people get poisoned. I think it may be a bit easier if we can get warnings ahead of time from Mia, so we need a way for her to speak with us without needing a phone call first. That's where this comes in." Zachariah opens the Edlund's box, revealing six boxes of brand new wireless headsets for the team. Alongside them is another, larger box with over-the-head headphones. "These will allow us to speak with each other, no matter where we are. There's one for each of us."

Everyone grabs one, opens it, and tests it out. Zachariah picks up the remaining one, saying that he'll give it to Vivian later. He also picks up the larger box and tosses it to Ragnar.

"Walrus Boy," he says, getting Ragnar's attention, "This is for Sammy. It'll fit over his head properly."

"Good thinking, Zachariah," Lee praises.

"Someone has to look after you kids," Zachariah says.

"Oh yeah, you ARE the only senior here, aren't you?" Lee reminds the group.

"Any reason you got one for Sven?" Mia asks Zachariah quietly.

"I figured Walrus Boy would be upset if he was left out."

"Great! Now I can go get book!" Ragnar exclaims.

"I'll go, too," Micah responds. The two stand up, Lee in tow.

"Hold on! We're not done yet!" Zachariah scolds them again. "You guys, calm down a bit."

Everyone sits back down again. "What else?" Ragnar asks.

"Yesterday, I went to get my own, proper weapon." Zachariah lifts the lid off of his weapon case, revealing the hatchet to everyone else. "Vivian was also there, and she got some new gear too. Who here hasn't gotten a new weapon yet?"

Micah, Lee, and Ragnar all raise their hands.

"I thought so. Micah, you have a pretty good revolver, so I don't think you need to do anything at the moment. You two, head to the weapon shop in Edlund's to grab new weapons for yourselves. Anything would be better than the decorative weapons we're currently using. As for me and Micah, we're going to head to the shopping district on the other side of town and grab some supplies from New Age Medicine. That way, we can be prepared if someone freezes again."

"Wow, you're so on top of things," Mia compliments.

"We'll spend today getting ready, and then we can meet at the park tomorrow to head back up," Zachariah says, ignoring Mia's compliment.

Lee, Micah, and Ragnar look at each other in silence for a minute.

"Now you can go," Zachariah says.

"Great!" Ragnar shouts, standing. "Let's go, Wheeler-friend," Ragnar says, looking at Lee Wheeler.

Everyone gets up to leave. The party heads for the door, but Zachariah turns back to Mia, who is still at the table.

"Mia? What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I'm just going to stay back here and study. I don't do anything for you guys within the labyrinth anyway."

Zachariah turns away and leaves out the front door.

After the door is shut, Mia opens up her laptop. She begins tapping on the keys, looking through the school records for anything on Lee Wheeler to try and help Vivian.

"Wow," she says to herself, "He's a star student..."

Within the park, the high trees can be seen shaking. As one draws closer to the shaking trees, they would find many splinters of bark, strewn across the grass floor. The source of the shaking trees is a young girl named Vivian, who is punching the trees with all her might. In between a few of the punches, she hears a quiet yipping sounds behind her. She turns around to find a small dog nearby, no larger than a pekingese. Cautiously, Vivian walks up to the small puppy, trying not to scare it away. The dog seems friendly and doesn't try to run. Getting on her knees, Vivian begins petting the dog's soft fur and looking for any tags. The dog's neck is completely bare of anything to indicate a previous owner. Now convinced that the dog is a stray, Vivian does the only logical thing she can think of: she picks up the dog. Using a free arm, she grabs a flap on her Vodlian-style hat, opens it up, and places the small dog within it, closing the flap and securing the dog to her hat. The dog pants and looks around happily, already comfortable with its new home. Suddenly, Vivian's phone goes off. She takes it out and sees a text message from Zachariah, instructing her to go to New Age Medicine.

Zachariah and Micah arrive outside the medicine shop and wait for Vivian. After a few short minutes, Vivian walks up with a dog on her hat. Zachariah looks up at the dog and then down at his friend. "Why?" he asks.

"It was alone," she responds.

"Yeah, but, why on your hat?"

The dog barks. "Because it's adorable," she replies.

"Are you drunk right now?"

"No." Vivian grabs Zachariah's sleeve and whispers to him, "Can I talk to you really quick?"

"About the dog? Because I'd also like to remind you that there are no pets allowed in the dorms, or even here."

Vivian looks at the store's windows. "I don't see a sign. Wait, no. Not about the dog, about... Lee."

"What is it?" Before answering, Vivian looks at Micah, who is waiting for them to continue. Zachariah looks too. "Hey, Micah. Head in. We'll catch up."

"Whatever." Micah walks into the store.

"You know that Lee Wheeler guy?" Vivian proceeds to tell Zachariah about what she and Mia learned the other night. "What do you think?"

"Definitely strange. It raises a few flags, and I DO think you should watch yourself, but I wouldn't make too big of a fuss about it over the group. At least, not until we save Alicia. We need as much help as we can get, and it seems like Persona-users are the only ones who can help. I highly doubt they're common folk, either."

"So are we going to hold off on telling others?"

"I think we should. Oh, by the way," Zachariah digs into his pocket and pulls out the headset. "Here. This is for you. The door in the labyrinth opened up. We're spending today preparing and then we'll go in tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. So is that why we're here?"

"Yep," Zachariah responds, walking into the store.

The shopkeeper begins to welcome them, but he notices the dog on Vivian's hat. "Um..." he begins.

"I don't see a sign," Vivian responds.

"Fair enough..." the shopkeeper responds.

The small group begins looking at all of the items in the shop. Vivian goes straight for the gems. She pulls the larger, white one off the shelf, just as she did last time, and asks to buy it. The shopkeeper begins to tell her the price, but she interrupts him. She pulls out the large book she took from the labyrinth. "Can I buy it with this?"

The shopkeeper's eyes open wide. "YES. Absolutely, yes!" You've got yourself a deal!"

"Really? Well, I think this is worth a bit more than one stone. Can I grab some medicine and one of these dis-poisons?"

"Yeah, that will work."

Vivian grabs her things. She takes her new Mahama gem and replaces the one on her hat. She takes the old Hama gem that is no longer glowing and sets it down on the counter, "Here, you can have this back." Vivian steps away from the counter and the shopkeeper swiftly drops the used gem into the garbage behind the counter. With Vivian's trade, she is Rank 1 in the Hierophant Arcana. Zachariah sees a set of beads that say that they have the potential to cure cancer. Despite his suspicions, Zachariah goes to grab one for purchase.

"Oh, those are expensive," Micah says.

Zachariah looks down at the price tag. "Damn... You're right. I can't afford that."

"Maybe not, but I think WE can. If we pool our money together, I think we'll be fine," Vivian suggests.

"It IS for the good of the group. Alright, let's get it." The group purchases a Revival Bead. Zachariah holds onto it. It's getting late. They decide to return to the dorm.

Lee and Ragnar walk into the weapons shop. Ragnar walks up to the shopkeeper.

"Do you have any warhammers?" he asks.

"I sure do," he responds. He takes Ragnar to a room in the back, full of replica warhammers.

"Hm... I'm looking for more authentic weapons..." Ragnar says.

"Well, how about these?" the shopkeeper shows him more replicas.

"Okay, well, how about a broadsword? Have one?"

The shopkeeper shows him a large claymore. "That is like it! I take it," Ragnar says. He pulls out the Mazio gem he purchased. "Can I enchant it with this?"

The shopkeeper looks at him. "Yeah, in the back we have an enchanting table, just like the ones from Skyrim, so if you, NO! You can't enchant weapons in real life!"

"Oh. Okay." Ragnar walks back by Lee, who is checking out the selection of pistols.

"Got any good upgrades for a pistol?" he asks.

The shopkeep shows him a display case with a pistol and a tranq pistol. Without hesitation, Lee buys the tranquilizer pistol. It's getting late. They decide to return to the dorm.

EVENNING

Vivian walks up to the door of the dorm. As she grabs the doorknob, the old man who made her sign the contract appears behind her.

"Need I remind you that there are no dogs allowed in the dorms?" he asks ominously.

"No. I know," Vivian replies. She grabs the door again.

"So then what are you doing?"

"Going into the dorm."

"But there are no dogs allowed."

"I know."

"So you can't go in."

"But look at him!" Vivian whines. "He's adorable! Can't we keep him? He doesn't have an owner..."

The old man looks at the dog and then back at Vivian. "Well, the hall director is allowed to have pets. I suppose I could adopt the dog."

"Really? Thank you!" Vivian removes the dog from her hat and gives him to the butler. She bows politely and walks into the dorm. Vivian is Rank 1 in the Judgement Arcana.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22

DAYTIME

The party attends school.

AFTERSCHOOL

As they leave, Zachariah reminds everyone that they agreed to head to the park and go up the labyrinth. The party meets up at the park. At the base of the chain, the group gathers in a circle.

"Alright, now that we're all here together, we can all head up! Come on, Mia, let's go!" Vivian says, excited.

"Um, no, that's okay," Mia responds sheepishly.

"Why not?" Lee asks.

"Well, um... you see... I'm afraid of heights..." Mia says, recoiling.

"Kidding? Look at how high it is. Is scary for all of us," Ragnar tells her, trying to get her to go up.

"Yeah, Zachariah can even fly you up there," Micah says.

"Well, I mean, I COULD if you wanted," Zachariah offers, turning to Mia. "Mia?"

Mia pokes her head out from behind a tree. "No, that's okay. I can stay back here."

"I suppose that is why got the headsets, huh?" Zachariah points out.

"Great, now that that's settled, check out the upgrade I got at the shop yesterday!" Lee exclaims, pulling out his tranquilizer.

"A tranq? Seems like a downgrade to me," Micah complains.

"Are you kidding? This thing can put enemies to sleep SO hard!" Lee says, waving it around.

Unbeknownst to the party, the child who was scared away from them a few days ago notices them. Seeing them speaking, he quickly hides behind the nearby slide. Suddenly, one of the students pulled out what looked like a gun. The kid strains his ears to hear. He only hears one word before he feels something strike his side.

Lee waved his tranq around, showing it off. After a few short minutes, he managed to accidentally pull the trigger. "Oops," he says as the dart flies off to a nearby slide. Without warning, a small, familiar child falls out from behind the slide. As soon as Lee sees what he's done, he drops the gun and collapses to his knees.

"WHAT HAVE I DONE!" he shouts in agony, "THESE HANDS! THEY'LL NEVER BE CLEAN AGAIN!"

Zachariah places his hand on Lee's shoulder. "Dude, it's a tranquilizer, he'll wake up."

A woman walks up behind the child. "Billy!" she shouts, concerned.

"Crap. Quick, grab the chain! We're invisible so long as we touch it!" Zachariah instructs the party.

As everyone grabs the chain, Vivian looks at Lee. "This is your doing. Tranq the old lady."

"I'd advise against it..." Zachariah says calmly.

The old lady reaches down to grab the kid. As she picks him up, the dart falls out of him. "Oh, Billy. You worried me. You're just tired, aren't you?" The old lady pulls out a handkerchief and wipes the drool falling from the open mouth of the unconscious child. "We've played at the park enough," the woman says, leaving with the child.

The party climbs the chain.

The party arrives in the same boss room as before. Noticing the large, water-filled cauldron has refilled itself, Vivian immediately dunks her head in and starts drinking the water once again.

"Hey, Vivian. You may want to remove your head from the water before you, you know, drown in it," Zachariah says.

Vivian lifts up her head and takes a deep breath before screaming, "ONE CUP OF WATER FOR EVERY CUP OF VODKA!" and shoving her head back under.

Zachariah walks away. "Children," he mutters.

"I thought we were heading up to the next floor?" Lee reminds them.

At that, the party climbs the stairs to the balcony again and is faced with the door. On the door is the clock, now struck midnight. The chains are no where on the door. The party opens the door and walks up the stairs.

The next room is similar to the others in shape, but along the walls are not average story books, but instead, manga. The center of the room is divided by a large wall with a door on the opposite side as the party and the stairs. The room smells of fresh paper and ink. Upon examining the rooms contents, the party discovers that there are not full sets of manga, but instead special editions and autographed copies of them on display.

"This room seems to really be a reflection of Alicia, huh?" Zachariah points out.

Ragnar walks up to a shelf labeled "Hentai." He grabs one of the books off the shelf and opens to a random page. In the center of the page is a set of tentacles.

"Hmm," he says to himself, "Reminds me of stories back home, huh Sven?" Sven grunts in agreement. "Maybe we should take a few. I bet New Age-friend would like some of these, too." Ragnar shoves a few of the books into his inventory and examines the rest of the room.

After he leaves, Vivian walks up to the hentai section and grabs a book off the shelf. "Hey, I can use these later," she says.

Zachariah, who was behind her, replies, "Come on, Vivian. Too much information."

"N-no! Not like that!" she responds, "I mean I have a plan!"

"We've been friends for around a year now, but I didn't expect you to share these kinds of things with me already," Zachariah says, walking away from her.

Ragnar grabs the knob to the door that divides the room. He gives it a turn, but it doesn't rotate. "Hmm... Nothing. Is locked, huh?" He waits for a second. "Wait, I can break!" Ragnar rears up for a kick and kicks the door as hard as he can. Pieces of wood can be heard breaking apart, but the door remains. "Okay, one more time!" he says, getting ready for another kick.

"Woah, hold on there. We've got other, more powerful ways of getting this door down," Zachariah says, walking up to the door. A tarot card floats in front of Zachariah. "Samandriel!" Zachariah's Persona floats above him and casts a powerful gust of wind at the door, causing it to fly to the other end of the room that it was guarding. "There," he says, satisfied. Ragnar peeks through the new opening. Without warning, a shadow peaked in through the opening. It was a large, pink-colored sphere, split in half by, what appeared to be, a mouth. Out of it's mouth came a large tongue that struck Ragnar.

"Oh no! Shadows!" Mia warns.

"Yeah, go that!" Ragnar replies, stumbling backwards.

Another one flew through the door and attempted to strike Zachariah, but he manages to dodge it.

"I got it!" Vivian shouts, delivering a barrage of punches to the shadow that tried to hurt Zachariah. Lee pulls out his gun and fires a close shot at the shadow that struck Ragnar, putting it to sleep with his tranquilizer bullet. Ragnar pulls his Claymore off of his back and strikes the sleeping shadow. As the giant sword falls onto the monster, it bursts into a cloud of black dust, disappearing soon after.

"Nicely done!" Zachariah shouts, dodging another hit from the shadow. Zachariah grabs his hatchet holstered to his waist and hits the shadow, knocking it back. He then takes a hold of the handle and hurls it at the shadow. It lodges itself into the enemy and Zachariah pulls the hatchet back, the shadow along with it.

Two more shadows flood into the room. One of the new shadows looks directly at Zachariah and casts Agi. As the fireball flies toward him, he moves the shadow attached to his weapon and blocks the spell, releasing the enemy of its trap.

"I got it!" Micah shouts, firing his pistol at the one that had just been freed, defeating it.

One of the two remaining shadows attempts to attack Vivian. It sticks out its tongue, but, before it can hit her, Vivian grabs its tongue and flings it back through the door.

"Wait, Zachariah! Those enemies are weak to wind! You can use your Garu skills!"

"Awesome!" Zachariah shouts. He lifts his hand and crushes the tower with a powerful grab. "Samandriel!" he shouts, casting Garu on the one remaining in the room. It falls over before it turns to a pile of dust and vanishes.

"Wait. Guys, did you see that?" he asks the group.

"What?" Ragnar responds.

"It fell over when I hit it!"

"So what?" Vivian asks.

"So?" Just then, the last remaining shadow emerged from the door. "Just follow my lead! Persona!" Zachariah casts Garu on the last shadow, knocking it over. "I've been waiting for this! Okay, now!" Zachariah shouts. On his command, the whole party rushes in to attack the enemy, delivering blow after blow. A puff of smoke rises from the onslaught of the party. As the smoke clears and the party stops their attack, the shadow bursts and vanishes.

"Yeah!" Micah shouts, content.

"Nice thinking," Ragnar congratulates.

"Thanks. I think we might be able to utilize All-Out Attacks to our advantage. An enemy gets knocked over when we hit it with its weakness, allowing us to hit it again. If they all fall, I say we take that chance to hit them all at once for massive damage," Zachariah explains.

"I don't detect any more shadows in that room. I think you got them all," Mia tells the party.

The party breathes a sigh of relief, now knowing that the room is safe.


End file.
